And Missouri coach Frank Haith — who received a letter of intent for the junior college big man on Wednesday — could not be happier to see him join his 2013-14 roster.
“He’s a true center, but I think he’s got really good skills,” Haith said. “He’s a developing guy, but he has ability, a really good jump hook and good feet … he’s a low-post scorer, which I like.”
Post, who committed to Missouri in January, is listed by Rivals as a four-star prospect and the No. 3 overall junior college player in the nation. Post averaged 12.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last season for Southwestern Illinois College, which went 22-11 during a season in which he was chosen as a second-team junior college All-American and the MVP of the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.
Haith said Post first jumped on Missouri’s radar last summer.
“He really blew up,” Haith said. “He was great at the camps we saw him at … he’s a guy that wasn’t on the scene until last summer.”
Now, Haith is eager to see what strength coach Todor Pandov — who helped forward Alex Oriakhi change his body before a very productive senior season — can do with Post.
“We want him at the same weight, but we want him to redefine that weight,” Haith said. “I think it will help his mobility. He has good feet now … he was a part of their press. But with the athletes in our league, we want (his mobility) to get better.”
Post will join a frontcourt that will be long on bodies but short on experience. Junior forward Tony Criswell was the first big man off the bench this year, with freshman forward Ryan Rosburg earning minutes as Oriakhi’s backup.
But freshman forward Stefan Jankovic, while a potentially gifted scorer, saw his playing dwindle as the season went on, and incoming freshmen forward Johnathan Williams III and Torren Jones — ranked as the Nos. 42 and 123 overall players in the Class of 2014 by Rivals — are unproven.
Even still, Haith is optimistic that Missouri will receive solid play from his big men in the fall.
“I think you’ll be surprised at the guys we have and the improvement they make from one year to the next,” Haith said. “L-Bo (Laurence Bowers), his freshman year, his numbers were less than Jankovic’s. So guys improve.”
Haith said Jankovic, who the staff envisions as a stretch four, could also play some small forward, if needed.
“We can put the five best guys out there,” said Haith, who added that redshirting one of the newcomers is a possibility. “I do think because of our bench, we’ll be able to play more guys and do some things differently.”
But while he was quick to say that the next season is still several months away, Haith could not help but be excited about his latest signee.
“Keanau gives us a guy that can score,” Haith said. “He’s shown the ability to be able to do that.”

Rector to visit MizzouShane Rector, a 6-foot, 170-pound three-star point guard from South Kent, Conn., is expected to visit Missouri this weekend, according to Rivals.
Rector, who decommitted from Rutgers after coach Mike Rice was fired, also has offers from Butler, Minnesota, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. Missouri already has one freshman point guard in the fold in four-star Romulus, Mich., native Wes Clark, who has signed his letter of intent, but Rector is a scorer who could earn minutes in a backcourt that could be thin with junior Phil Pressey’s recent decision to declare for the NBA Draft.
“We anticipated losing Phil but we didn’t sign another point guard just out of respect, to see what Phil decided to do,” Haith said.
Haith said the Tigers, who have three open scholarships available for the fall, will continue to scour the country for freshmen and Division I transfers who would be a good fit in Columbia. Missouri has made a living off transfers during Haith’s tenure, with Jabari Brown, Earnest Ross, Keion Bell, Jordan Clarkson and Alex Oriakhi all coming from other schools.
“It’s the culture we’re in right now,” Haith said. “Look across the country and how many kids are transferring and going places everyday. You’ve got to know it’s going to be like that and work accordingly.”

Rector to visit MizzouShane Rector, a 6-foot, 170-pound three-star point guard from South Kent, Conn., is expected to visit Missouri this weekend, according to Rivals.
Rector, who decommitted from Rutgers after coach Mike Rice was fired, also has offers from Butler, Minnesota, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. Missouri already has one freshman point guard in the fold in four-star Romulus, Mich., native Wes Clark, who has signed his letter of intent, but Rector is a scorer who could earn minutes in a backcourt that could be thin with junior Phil Pressey’s recent decision to declare for the NBA Draft.
“We anticipated losing Phil but we didn’t sign another point guard just out of respect, to see what Phil decided to do,” Haith said.
Haith said the Tigers, who have three open scholarships available for the fall, will continue to scour the country for freshmen and Division I transfers who would be a good fit in Columbia. Missouri has made a living off transfers during Haith’s tenure, with Jabari Brown, Earnest Ross, Keion Bell, Jordan Clarkson and Alex Oriakhi all coming from other schools.
“It’s the culture we’re in right now,” Haith said. “Look across the country and how many kids are transferring and going places everyday. You’ve got to know it’s going to be like that and work accordingly.”

COLUMBIA — It appears Missouri coach Frank Haith’s plea to get his NCAA misconduct charges thrown out has been rejected.

According to a report by The Miami Herald, which cited multiple sources, the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions has denied motions by Haith and three other former Miami basketball coaches to dismiss the pending cases against them. The coaches filed the requests, citing the organization’s admission of misconduct in its own investigation of the Miami case.

The Herald said Temple law professor Eleanor Myers – the member of the Committee on Infractions who was charged with ruling on the motions – told the coaches she does not believe she has the authority to dismiss the case pre-hearing.

The Herald also reported that Haith, who received a notice of allegations from the NCAA in February, will now have the opportunity to defend himself against the charges in front of the Committee on Infractions on June 14-16 at the NCAA’s headquarters in Indianapolis.

According to the NCAA, Haith failed to alert the Miami athletic department after imprisoned booster Nevin Shapiro threatened to claim he had paid a recruit unless Haith or assistant Hake Morton provided money to Shapiro. The NCAA also says Haith failed to ensure that Shapiro’s claim lacked merit or disclose Morton’s financial dealings with Shapiro, and gave money to Morton that he then provided to Shapiro.

Haith has been accused of failure to monitor by the NCAA, which has resulted in recruiting restrictions and short suspensions for other coaches, including Baylor’s Scott Drew and Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun. He and the other former Miami coaches who received such notices are expected to be able to defend themselves in June in front of the committee.

An external review of the NCAA’s investigation of the Miami case released in February uncovered a messy trail of missteps and insufficient oversight by college sports’ governing body, and resulted in 20 percent of the gathered evidence being thrown out. This opened a window of opportunity for Miami and the accused to file motions to dismiss.

Haith can file another motion to dismiss at the hearing scheduled for this summer, where the Committee on Infractions will hear both sides and determine Haith’s fate. Should the latter play out, it could take a couple months for a ruling to come down.

Former Baylor swingman Deuce Bello — once ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 54 player in the country — has decided to transfer to Mizzou.
Bello, who will have two years of eligibility remaining after he sits out the 2013-14 season under transfer rules, said Florida State, Florida, Colorado State and Gardner-Webb were also interested in him. Bello, a 6 feet 4 and 187 pounds, averaged 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per game as a sophomore last season.
“I just feel like the coaching staff is good, and I’ve been cool with (associate coach) Tim (Fuller) for a while,” Bello said. “At Baylor, we played Mizzou three times and I like their style of play. They get up and down the floor and press. Plus I’ve been on the campus so I know what it’s like.”
Bello said he recently decided to ask for his release from Baylor in a search for more playing time. The Bears signed three highly-touted guards in its 2013 recruiting class, including former Raytown South star Ishmail Wainright.
“I just felt like another place would be better for me,” Bello said. “I wasn’t getting the time I wanted.”
Bello was used primary as a defender at Baylor, and said he takes pride in his athleticism, ability to defend and finish in traffic. However, he says Missouri’s coaches see him as more than that, and added that he was also impressed with the way Haith has used other transfers, like Earnest Ross, Jabari Brown and Alex Oriakhi.
“I’m going to work on the stuff I need to work on, just my body, getting stronger and my mid-range game,” said Bello, who hopes to get up to 205 pounds by the 2014 season.